Letters to the editor 5/17

I am writing in response to your article “Lost In Time.” I also like fashion and music from past generations, but I feel as though a lot of people over romanticize the era they like; they only see the fashion, but don’t really think about the flaws. While I’d agree that the 1800s were a “simpler” time, I enjoy having a refrigerator. …I think it’s great if they use style ideas from older eras, but I just wish people would stop saying, “I wish I lived in this era” because they’d be miserable if they did.

Hailey Spencer, junior

Dear Editor,

The free market principles that govern most of the world seem to stop at the MHS walls. Most student commerce is banned. But why can’t Mason High School students freely engage in commerce – for example parking passes? The 2013-2014 application for a pass states, “Parking Passes registered…to one student and are not transferrable.” This creates an unnecessary risk for would-be drivers – the risk that a student could buy a pass, be unable to use it [think about when schoolwork trumps driving school], and derive no benefit for a commodity for which they incurred an opportunity cost. An expensive parking space sits unoccupied, a waste of money and scarcity. Students who change their mind after buying a pass should be allowed to sell their pass to another student.

Admittedly, a complete lack of regulation would lead to chaos. But there’s a simple fix. Two students should be able to walk into the A2 parking pass office, mutually sign forms for the transfer, and complete a monetary exchange in the presence of administration.

Mason students have all learned theoretical economics. It’s time these lessons be applied to the school itself.